CLEVELAND — Tattoo businesses had to fight to have their voices heard last year when Gov. Mike DeWine allowed them to reopen. 

What You Need To Know

  • Billy Hill owns Envy Skin Gallery in Columbus

  • Ever since reopening, Hill says he’s been very busy, but there could be some obstacles in the way

  • Hill said his business experienced its best winter in 2020

Billy Hill is prepping the station for a new customer. 

“I mean, basically we’re just making sure that everything is sterile, everything is good and nothing contaminates and makes it weird,” Hill said.  

The Envy Skin Gallery owner for almost 15 years talks over the tattoo design with his client, one of the many appointments he’s had since reopening.

“Right off the rip, it was pretty crazy. It hasn’t really stopped. So it’s what do they say? A good problem to have.” 

It’s a journey that started over three decades ago. Hill was always a talented artist, but he was really into sports until a bad injury led him to hang out with a new crowd and discover a new adventure. 

“They wanted me to tattoo them. I was like ’no!’ Why would you want that? But they persuaded me and it turned into an every weekend thing somehow and that competitiveness took over.” 

Hill has been at it ever since, eventually opening up his own business. He said he has painted some special moments along the way. 

“You might tattoo someone who’s a bit overweight, and they get a tattoo in a little more of an area that they may not show off quite as much, next thing you know you see them outside a couple weeks later with their friends and their a little more confident,” Hill said.  

Hill’s customer is chemical engineer Zach Reyes, who’s getting a tattoo related to his field, and said he was confident of the safety measures taken by Envy. 

“Honestly, I wasn’t super hesitant. Especially considering some of the things they’re doing. So I would say from what I’ve experienced, I didn’t really feel too much hesitation,” Reyes said.

Spectrum News 1 met Hill last year after he sent a video to the governor pleading for a reopening plan for tattoo parlors. After making it through the 2008 recession, COVID-19 became his biggest obstacle. 

“A lot of people were getting laid off and people didn’t have a lot of money and we were still a very new company. I was putting in six-day weeks and I had one employee at the time, maybe two. And it was very challenging. But this is absolutely one of a kind. Like, I don’t even know what to say about this. This is crazy,” Hill said back in 2020.

Business has been plenty busy since then, but Hill does worry about issues like inflation and what that could do down the line. 

“I’m a little nervous about all that because prices, we’re paying double what we were paying 16 months ago for supplies. And you see it everywhere. You see it in the home industry, gas is up, grain is up, it’s crazy,” he said. 

But Hill is happy to keep busy doing what he’s loved for over 30 years. He's also thankful to those who’ve kept the needles going. 

“We have the best customers in the world. They were so loyal. They were so patient, you know, people were calling us ‘how can we help?’ Well, when we get back open come get tattooed,” Hill said laughing.